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The ITALIC parts are FLASHBACKS. (ONLY IN MARY'S POV)

Chapter Six

Mary's POV

My cheeks were immersed in delicious warmness and it took me a while to realize that I was sleeping - that I needed to wake up. Where was I? The last thing I remembered was being on the top of an old building with Embry and a lot of chocolate. Did I fall asleep? Apparently. I tried to guess where I was by the feeling of it, but instead of the cold floor of the building I was on a warm, comfy sort of couch or bed, I wasn't sure. I yawned and the warmness on my cheek disappeared. My eyes fluttered open and I found myself lying down on the backseat of a car. The door was open and Embry was standing next to me with a smile on his face.

"Look who woke up," he mumbled, touching my nose. "C'mon, we need to get you inside."

I frowned. "We? Where? Where am I?"

His smile widened. "You fell asleep while eating chocolate and I called Nessie, who came and picked us up. You looked so peaceful so I didn't really bother waking you up," he explained, "We're in front of your house now. It's about seven."

"Mhm, cool." I yawned again. "Thank you." I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Um...where's my book bag?"

"With Matt."

"Right." I crawled my way out of the car. Nessie was standing behind Embry.

"Hey Mary." She waved at me, grinning wide and exchanging glances between me and Embry. "Had a good time today?"

"Today was awesome," I mocked. "The best day of my life."

She frowned and tilted her head a bit. Embry gave her a look that said 'I'll-explain-later'. "Ookay, let's get you inside."

"Um," I said, "I can find my own way there, thanks." I closed the buttons of my blazer, covering the chocolate stain right on my tummy. How did that happen anyway? Embry looked a little disappointed at my response. "But," I said, "Thank you, Embry. For everything. For the thing at the garage, and the chocolate -" and that damn great kiss " - and all."

He flashed me a dazzling smile and I had to remember how to breathe. "Can we hang out again sometime then?" he asked, "As friends, of course."

Of course. Damn my luck. Okay, so my mind insisted that I couldn't be in a relationship at the moment, and my heart seemed to agree with it on that one, but a girl likes some attention, some persistence. It wouldn't hurt to hang out as friends though. Embry seemed cool.

"Yeah, sure," I said, "Gimme a call sometime, I'm sure we can work something out." A moment of awkward silence. "Alright, I gotta go."

Without any introductions, or warnings, I found myself lifted up from the ground and into a bear hug. It took me a second to wrap my arms back around Embry. As much as it sent butterflies through my body, I leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Okay, you can let me go now."

He set me back on my feet slowly and whispered a "take care" into my ear before hopping into the car with Nessie and leaving me on the pavement of my house. I was going to walk in when I remembered I had to pass by Matt's first. His house was the one next door, so it didn't take me a lot of time before I was on his door. I rang the bell and waited, rubbing off the chocolate on my mouth and eyeliner beneath my eye as I did.

After a while, his mother answered the door. "Oh hello, Mary."

"Mrs. Williams is Matt back from his practice yet?"

"Practice?" she retorted, "It's Monday, dear. It's his day off."

He lied. "Um, yeah, my bad," I mumbled, sticking my hands in my pocket, "Is he here though? He has some of my stuff."

She nodded. "Come on in."

I walked into their house and straight to Matt's room. It was locked. I knocked twice. "Go away, Kelly."

"It's Mary."

I heard him fall and curse before he opened the door. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

I eyed his messed blond hair, dirty shirt and tired-looking eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Are you okay?"

I smiled cunningly. "I had three bars of chocolate and about 200 grams of mixed chocolate candy," I said, "I'm glorious."

"You did what?" His eyes widened. "Tell me you didn't."

"I did!"

"Well, what about your diet? What about your high blood sugar level? Are you trying to get yourself into a coma?"

"I don't give a fuck."

"Language!" Kelly, Matt's younger sister, remarked as she walked into her room. He pulled me in his room and slammed the door shut.

"Before you say anything," I said, eyeing his smashed up room, "I just had a bad day. Speaking of which, what the hell happened to your room?"

He sighed. "I just had a bad day," he repeated.

"So you went up smashing everything in eyesight?" I asked, looking at the crushed vase and disordered clothes. Matt was one of those guys who couldn't stand it if their room was just a little bit untidy, so seeing his room like that was like seeing a fish walk on land.

"I was just upset."

"You lied to me," I stated, "You had no tennis. Why'd you leave?"

He threw himself on the bed. "You matter to me, Mary," he said, "You matter to me so much. You have no idea how much you mean to me. And seeing you...like that...today with Jackson was just...unbearable. And I can't believe I was so calm. I wanted to yell. I wanted to smash his head but I was just so...calm. I felt like such a failure - I mean, you depended on me and -"

"Do you really think I wanted a bloodbath there?" I asked, "If you'd hit him, you would've been with Embry against one. Something seriously bad would've happened."

"You don't get it."

"Well, enlighten me!" I yelled. He stared at me, silent. "Sorry," I whispered, "I just hate seeing you like that. I mean." I picked up a piece of glass from the ground. "I had no idea your vase's interior was pink. This is horrible."

His eyes connected with mine and we both resisted laughing for a second before we broke into hysterics. He stood up and hugged me. "I -" he started then paused. "I never knew it was pink."

I giggled and hugged him back. "Who has a vase in their room anyway?"

He rubbed my back and we stayed like that for a moment: his arms around my waist and mine around his neck. To a stranger, it must have looked like we were...romantically involved, if that's the word for it. But to us, it was nothing more than a brother-sister relationship. Matt was my best friend, a friend as close as a biological brother. Though, I would argue that not all biological brothers are close. Exhibit A: my brother.

Suddenly, my vision blurred and my head felt heavy. I couldn't hold my arms around him. They fell and I closed my eyes, trying to regain my balance. He tightened his grip on my waist. "Whoa, are you okay?"

I nodded and practically fell on his bed. As soon as I lay back, my vision started getting better. "I'm fiiine," I sang, "You have no idea how awesome I feel."

He crawled beside me on the bed. "Can you breathe well?" I just rolled my eyes. As much as I liked how close we were becoming I hated that, during the past couple of months, Matt witnessed me perform all of my magic health tricks. Lose balance, faint, have a panic attack - the whole lot. When I didn't answer, he unbuttoned my blazer.

"Hey!" I complained.

"It looked too tight, and you just had a lot of food..." He shrugged and lay down beside me. "You should probably stay like that for a while."

I laughed. "This day is weird," I said, "I mean, first with Jackson, and then Embry, and then the chocolate...and then now..."

He chuckled. "How was your day? Did he show you the car thing?"

"Nah."

"What, then?"

I smiled, the memories of my few hours with Embry flooding back, making my cheeks redden. I flipped on my side, facing Matt, my hair falling on both sides of my face. He looked at me, anticipating my answer. I bit my lip then spoke. "He bought me the chocolate," I whispered.

He mock-gasped. "No!" He smiled. "What else though?"

I had no idea why I saw Matt today in a totally different light. Suddenly, he seemed so close to me. He gave me this brotherly care that I'd always strived for. I felt like I could completely and blindly trust him especially after he knew. Maybe he didn't know everything, but he knew just enough, and the fact that he didn't seem like he was treating me any differently made me relax.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I whispered, biting my lips, leaning so close to him that my hair was touching his cheek. He gently put it away, nodding, keeping eye contact. "Before we went in to get the chocolate, Embry -" I paused. Did I want to tell him this? I mean, I'd told Embry to pretend it never happened. It sure doesn't feel like it didn't, but a couple of hours earlier I regretted it. I regretted the first kiss I'd ever willingly grabbed a boy for. The only kiss that mattered so far. A kiss so gentle, so loving, so heavenly but so, so wrong. It was wrong, I could feel it inside me. Whenever I remembered his smooth lips on mine I couldn't help but recall the last time I'd kissed anyone. I must've looked seriously pathetic to have him kiss me like that - like I mattered. Like he wanted to be with me. The thing is: I didn't matter - not to him, not to anyone. Maybe to Matt, as a sister, but that's all. I would never deserve to be treated like those fairy tale princesses or those little angelic girls everybody love.

I had to remember - I was me. I was Mary. I was probably the single most pathetic girl in a hundred miles radius. I was worthless. I didn't deserve anything like that. If I deserved anything, it would be the treatment I'd got from my ex.

I felt the tears well up in my eyes, my lips shaking. Matt looked confused, his brows furrowed, but I looked away. What was I doing here, claiming care from someone who shouldn't have to worry about me or listen to me at all? Was I really that damn desperate?

I quickly got up, buttoning back my blazer, grabbing my book bag from where it lay next to Matt's desk, flipping it on my shoulder. "I gotta go. Sorry."

Matt followed me, an anxious look on his face. "Mary, wait! What's wrong? What happened?"

Tears were threatening to roll down my cheek. I had to hold my breath to hold them in. "Nothing happened, Matt."

He grabbed my arm as I made my way out of his room. "Lies! What did Embry do? Did he tell you something?"

"Nothing! Okay? Just leave me alone."

He tightened his grip on my arm and I winced. "Tell me, Mary."

At his rough touch, my mind went back four long months, on the day I told Jackson I was leaving Forks. He'd grabbed my arm in the exact same way and dragged me all the way across the room, throwing me on the bed.

"You're leaving?" He repeated for the thousandth time. I nodded, frightened, covering my face with my arms. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I-I- I did-didn't know," I stuttered, my breath coming out in short waves. "I swear I didn't!"

He yanked my arms away from my face, slapping me. "Liar!"

"I'm not lying," I found myself whisper, "I swear I'm not. I swear I didn't know." I was shaking hard and I noticed how Matt's grip had loosened considerably. I struggled to control my breathing, feeling myself drown as I'd felt earlier this morning, closing my eyes, letting my tears free. I could feel my face lose color and my limbs grow insensitive. My vision was getting blurry and I had to focus on how to breathe.

In a moment, I found myself wrapped in Matt's arms. He kept hushing me, running his hand on my hair, whispering things I couldn't really make out. All I was trying to do was stay conscious and I couldn't even get myself to move my arms and wrap them around Matt. My heart was doing leaps and my knees were giving in and if it wasn't for Matt's support, I would've been on the ground by then.

"If you don't wanna tell me, it's totally fine," Matt whispered after a while, "But if it's too bad, I want to know. If Embry -"

"It's not about Embry," I whispered, "I'll tell you. Everything."

Embry's POV

I growled hard, getting out all the negative energy within my system. Paul, as a wolf, growled back, hopping beside me, moving to bite my neck but I dodged him, pushing him away.

That's it, boy, he thought, let it out. Hurt me.

I have to find him, I thought, I have to kill him. I howled, letting myself fall on the ground.

I'd spent all the time ever since I left Mary at her door in my wolf form, running, fighting my (very willing) brothers, trying to wrap my head around what had happened today. Not the last part - no. The first part: the part where Mary slipped from my hands to his in a blink of an eye. The part where I stood and watched him treat her like he fucking owned her and it enraged me: it sent waves of flame through my being, literally.

There was this thing about imprinting (which sometimes sucked): whenever your imprint feels something - anything - you feel it, too. All while she slept I could only feel my rage. When she woke up, her pure content and happiness cooled me down a little. Her touch froze any kind of hateful feelings I had towards anyone -including that asshole. But now - all I could feel was pure agony. I ached for her, for her suffering, for everything that happened and I had no clue of.

I howled again, wishing I could be on her side, comforting her, making her feel better. I couldn't get over the scenarios that kept running through my mind - the various situations that could have happened to her and I didn't know. The various scenarios that could be happening to her while I was away. I wanted to take her and keep her safe, right under my sight. I wanted to make sure no one, nothing, was upsetting her.

She hated herself. I could tell that much. Why? I had no idea. She needed to be protected, even from those thoughts and feelings. I needed to protect her, yet I couldn't.

Paul sighed. Another difficult imprint. I'm sorry, Embry.

It's not just difficult - it's impossible. How would you feel if Rachel had been so broken, huh?

He wanted to stay silent, but I saw through all his thoughts. He would feel exactly the same. He would want to protect her, but take revenge at the same time. I wanted to see that bastard fucking die.

But how would I reach him? How would I know who he was?

From how it seemed, they had been in a seriously long relationship together, so he might had known her from where she was in Forks. Forks, yes! She said she knew Charlie! She said her dad was a cop, too...

That was it, Charlie! Charlie would know him. After all, Forks was all a couple of hundred people or something. They all knew each other and most importantly, Charlie knew them all.

You think I can take Jake and go?

Why Jake, though? Paul asked. Charlie knows you.

Because I might lose it. I don't know how I'd react if I found that son of a bitch.

We had to wait until the morning because Jacob wanted to sleep. Fucking Alpha, bossing everyone around. I was interiorly glad Nessie was part vampire; no one wanted a mini Jacob to boss them around in the future as well. I waited in his Rabbit while he kissed his fiancee goodbye. While I waited, I checked my watch - great, it was twelve. It was time for Mary's lunch at school (it was helpful how Nessie went to the same school, but skipped today). I dialed her number and heard the phone ring.

Once.

Twice.

Fifteen freakin' times with no answer.

I huffed, only a tad worried (she could still be in class for any reason, after all), waiting for Jacob to join me. I pushed the honk to get his attention. "Come on already!"

He rolled his eyes as he slid inside. "I don't get why you want to go to Charlie."

"I need information."

The car roared into life. "About?"

"About Jackson."

He frowned, getting on the main road. "Seriously?"

"Do I look like I'm fucking kidding?"

He grimaced. "Look who's grumpy.."

"I just fucking am, okay?" I yelled, "When Nessie was the one abused* you didn't seem like you had a problem killing the guy."

His grip visibly tightened around the steering wheel, his teeth gritting together. "Fine. You have a point."

The rest of the ride was completely silent, the tension almost visible. We made it to Charlie at the station in no time and he was waiting for us, as his granddaughter had called him earlier to give him a heads up. We all sat at his desk in awkward silence before he decided to speak.

"I get it you wanted to ask about something, Embry?"

I shifted in my seat. "Chief Swan, did you know Mariah Anderson? She's the daughter of a colleague of you, I get it. They moved to Port Angeles a while ago..?"

He frowned in concentration. "Mary. Yes, I know her. Is something wrong?"

I turned towards him, licking my lips in anxiousness. "She had a boyfriend named Jackson, right?"

"Jackson Storms - they used to date for a whole year, I think."

"Yes- that one. Do you know anything about him? Like, did he have violence problems at school.."

Charlie's shoulders suddenly tensed and Jacob warningly kicked me. I could have crossed a line, but I couldn't care less. "May I ask why you're concerned about the kid, Call?"

I exchanged glances with Jake who nodded, giving me permission to speak. Charlie was practically family anyway. "I met him. I know Mary. I was just -"

"Interfering. Getting your nose where you shouldn't, Call."

"Charlie," Jake spoke for the first time, "This issue concerns the elders. Mary.." He looked at me and back at Charlie. "Mary is an imprint," he whispered, leaning close. "Embry's."

Charlie, during the past couple of years, had grown to know pretty much everything about us, wolves. Maybe not all about vampires, but everything about us - most of the information was courtesy of one of the most important elders - Sue Clearwater (soon Sue Swan).

Suddenly, Charlie stood up. "Then the elders should be the ones contacting me. I'm afraid this meeting is over, gentlemen."

*In my other story, Shooting Stars, in chapter 13 I think, Nessie was almost-raped.

Oooh, I wonder why Charlie reacted like that? ;)

Sorry for the late update - I had finals!

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